Desperate Measures
by Tiffany Kleinhans
Summary: Giving up hope that Dumbledore will help with the abuse at the Dursley's, a desperate Harry flees to the only person he knows will not send him back, Voldemort. My version of Chibikan's story in progress, done with permission. Slash version. Please R&R.
1. Prologue

**Desperate Measures**

Story Warnings: Child Abuse, Violence, Language. If there come to be more, I'll mention them when they first come along, since I don't know fully where this story is going yet.

Disclaimer: Obviously, the characters aren't mine. What I really need to mention is that the plot belongs to Chibikan from her story of this same name. This is done with her full permission. Also, I need to give a large portion of the credit for the prologue and the first chapter to her. My prologue is altered a bit from hers, but my first chapter is not changed much. I assure you all that Chibikan knows about this as well. In any case, I strongly recommend that you subscribe to her original story, as she assures me she plans to write more when she has the time.

Also, this story is strongly AU, so I don't want to hear about what did or did not happen in the books. But, obviously, you can forget HBP and DH altogether. Most of the rest happened, but there may be some changes mentioned at times. As I said, I'm not sure of the full story yet.

* * *

Prologue:

**Midnight, July 31****st****, 1996 Little Hangleton**

Lightning flashed across the sky as rain poured down in torrents outside Riddle Manor. The man who called himself Lord Voldemort was quite content inside the building. He had always enjoyed thunderstorms, as they were one of the few things as potentially deadly as he was. Lounging in an easy chair across from the window, book in hand; he was the picture of relaxation. As he sipped on the cup of hot tea in front of him, reading one of his favorite novels, he was perfectly at peace. Though he would soon find that was not to be the case for long.

Voldemort had just turned a page in his book, when he suddenly heard a loud bang from outside. Being who he is, he of course got up and went to the window, wanting to know the source of the sound. Looking out he saw nothing, and assumed, as many people would, that it was merely the storm. Returning to his reading, he had not done so for long before catching a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, through the window. Dismissing it as nothing, he attempted to continue reading his book, until he heard the thump outside the front door. He marked the page in his book and went to the door. He opened it and looked directly in front of him. There was no one, until he looked down. A young boy, with messy black hair he would know anywhere, lay barely conscious and exhausted. "Potter?"


	2. Enter Snape

I definitely owe credit for this chapter entirely to Chibikan. I changed it very little. Once again, I DO have her permission to do this. All chapters after this will be completely my own work, but the plot idea will still be hers. Look for an update within a couple weeks. The next chapter is partly completed already.

* * *

Chapter One:

What was the boy up to? What was he thinking? This and more ran through the head of the Dark Lord.

The panting teen looked up with hurting eyes that seemed to send a message all on their own. It was simple, he was there for help, which was the message he received and understood. Voldemort bent down and lifted the boy up and carried him inside. There he gave the boy a closer scrutiny, when he laid him on the sofa. Potter's arm hung at an odd angle by his side, his right leg was clearly broken, bad, the bone was poking out of the flesh and blood coated the pant leg, and it already appeared to be gangrenous, this had happened a WHILE ago. He, who shouldn't have cared, this was a good way to be rid of the brat for good, but he did care, because while normally he would not have, someone should have. Where were his bodyguards when this happened? This was not the doing of any of his, no; the injuries were far too muggle-related. Their spells were advanced enough not to leave so much evidence, evidence could be traced, and they weren't foolish enough to be caught so easily. Why had his blasted guards not protected him? That was what they were paid for after all.

"What in the seven levels of Hell happened to you?" He demanded. Harry didn't answer at first, his eyes dropping to the floor. Voldemort grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look back at him. "I said, what…." But he stopped. For the first time he noticed not only a blackened eye, but also a split lip, a gash on his forehead crusted over with old blood and oozing puss from the aforementioned wound. "Never mind, I think I can guess. But why did you come here? Surely that senile old headmaster would have been a better choice. By coming to me, you could have easily sealed your fate."

Harry said nothing but slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment.

Voldemort took the parchment and read it. He quickly realized it was a letter from the esteemed, beloved headmaster.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you want to go to the Burrow this year, but it just isn't possible. Voldemort is still after you, you know this. Putting you with the Weasley's just isn't the best course of action. I understand how anxious you are about seeing your friends again, but you mustn't accuse your loving family of such horrid things. I'm sure that if you just tried to get along with them then you'd see they are not so bad at all. Just try harder._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

Voldemort reread the letter with disgust in his eyes. So he HAD tried to seek Dumbledore's help. And Dumbledore hadn't just refused his aid, but had practically called the boy a liar. And so, in his desperation to escape, Potter had sought him instead. He smirked, knowing that Dumbledore had just made a fatal mistake. Potter would not be returning to his side.

"Well, I can completely understand now why. You do know the risks of coming here, but still you came. Your willingness to face the danger is admirable and is to be rewarded. Now, we must take care of your leg and head before the infections grow worse. Then we will set the broken bones." He went to a pot of floo powder and carried a bit to his fireplace. "Hogwarts Dungeon!" He demanded. "Severus, come to me, immediately." He knew Severus would come; he'd used this method many times.

As expected, the Potions Master came through the fire and prostrated himself at the man's feet. "Master, how may I serve you?" He asked, not even raising his head.

"I am in need of your healing abilities today, Severus." The Dark Lord gestured to the suffering boy on the sofa. "Look." he ordered.

Severus, though he tried to, couldn't mask his surprise. "Mr. Potter! What are you doing here?" He knew that Voldemort couldn't have gotten to Harry himself.

Voldemort answered for the boy. "Clearly, he is not as safe at his relatives as Dumbledore says he is. Oh, perfectly safe from the likes of me, but, as you can see," He pointed the boy's injuries. "This is what I need you take care of. His leg and his head first. There is clear evidence of gangrene."

Severus eyed the boy. "Why didn't you tell Dumbledore about this?" he asked, obviously getting what the Dark Lord was saying. He was appalled; he'd thought that Potter was a spoiled, arrogant brat, coddled by his family. If Severus had known this, he'd never have given the boy such a difficult time at school, not even he was that cruel. And what was more, he would have been able to help him. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Harry lowered his head. He knew he'd be asked that. And Snape would go tell Dumbledore where he was. And Dumbledore would send a "rescue party" and make him go back to the Dursley's. He couldn't trust Snape with this.

"Forget the why's for now, Severus!" Voldemort hissed. "Just tend to his injuries!"

Severus bowed. "Yes, Milord." Snape waved his wand, silently summoning the necessary potions and went about his job. He used a cleansing spell to get rid of the drying blood and the seeping pus and another spell to set the leg and stitch up the wound. He turned his attention now to the gash on his head. Instead of using a spell, he conjured a bowl of warm water and mixed in a healing potion. "Okay, Potter, I'm going to clean your head wound now, it might sting some." He dipped a cloth in the mixture and began gently stroking it on. As he expected, Potter winced a little. He sighed. He wouldn't have even needed to use this strong of a potion if the wound had been dealt with much earlier. Head wounds often bleed a lot but look a lot worse than they really are. "Now, Potter, perhaps you can tell me if there is anything else hurting. I've fixed what I could see, except that shiner of yours, but are you in pain anywhere else?" All he got was silence. "Potter, if anything else hurts, you need to tell me." Again, only silence, and he noticed that Potter's head was bowed. "Potter, look at me!" He forced the boy's head up and gasped. There was a large hand shaped bruise on his throat. "Master, did you see this one?"


	3. A Understanding

Alright, here's the next chapter. It's slightly later than I planned, because I got sick. Plus, I had to rewrite a large portion of it to adjust for some plot decisions that I made. With being sick, my brain wasn't really working fully when this was written, so I hope it came out alright.

Also, there is an IMPORTANT poll on my profile page regarding this story and whether or not it should be LV/HP slash and if it would affect whether you continue to read it. Please vote or leave a review with your opinion (if you do both, you can be counted twice). I've sort of been playing with the idea of leaving this version clean and posting an adult version elsewhere. Just in case I do that, I'm putting together a list of those who want to be notified where to find the slash version, so let me know. Also, please let me know whether this seems well-written, if anyone's OOC, etc. If there's something I need to work on, I'd like to know about it. Thanks.

I'll get another chapter out as soon as I can. Now that I have a better idea of where this is going, the writing will hopefully happen faster. You may also be interested to know that I now have a LiveJournal under the username OlympianLady where I will post information on my progress, and other various tidbits. Now, without further ado, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Two:

Voldemort turned towards Severus at his gasp. What could rattle the stoic man so much to make him lose his control, even slightly? Seeing the look of shock mingled with horror on his servant's face, the Dark Lord quickly took the few steps back toward the pair at the question, and followed the Potion Master's gaze. Seeing the bruise on the boy's throat only served to increase his rage. Then, recalling the boy's silence since his arrival, and noting the location of the injury, an unexpected sense of dread sunk into his mind.

"Potter, can you speak?" he asked, in a voice wrought with barely controlled fury. Harry, having forced his head out of Snape's grasp, just looked dismally down at the floor once again, giving no indication of an answer. Shame burned deeply within him.

Finally losing control of his temper, the Dark Lord pounced. Gripping the boy's chin harshly, he forced his head back up with a quick jerk. Angrily flashing ruby red eyes met shattered emerald. Leaning forward until he was mere inches from the boy's face, the Dark Lord spoke again, this time in an angry growl.

"Potter, I don't appreciate being ignored. Now, I asked you a question, and I expect an answer. _Can you speak_?" The last was spoken in a series of hisses, which only two people in the world could understand.

Harry made no attempt to escape Voldemort's grasp, not wishing to truly have the older wizard's anger directed towards him. He simply directed his eyes back down toward the floor, escaping that penetrating crimson gaze. He then gave a small shake of his head, the best he could do with his chin still held in a vice-like grip.

The Dark Lord, having received his answer, immediately turned his piercing glare onto Severus, who had been watching the entire scene in no small amount of shock. There were two questions running constantly through Severus Snape's mind. How could he not have known? And, why on Earth wasn't Potter dead, rather than resting on the sofa of his mortal enemy?

"Severus," the Dark Lord's commanding tone quickly snapped him back to attention. "See to the boy's throat. Immediately." With that, the Dark Lord finally released his grip on Potter's chin, taking a few steps back but maintaining a constant watch on the events currently unfolding in his sitting room.

"Yes, of course, My Lord." With a quick, respectful bow of his head to the Dark Lord, Severus immediately returned his full attention back to Harry Potter. Following his Master's orders, he waved his wand over the boy's throat, soundlessly casting several diagnostic spells. It was never wise to attempt to heal an injury as serious as this without first knowing its exact nature. He would not risk Potter's ability to speak, or most especially the Dark Lord's wrath, by being hasty.

After a few minutes of casting diagnostic spells and reading the results, Severus turned his attention back to his Master behind him. "My Lord, Potter's final injury will require a more specialized potion, which I will need to custom brew."

The Dark Lord's eyes flashed, "And exactly how long will this 'specialized potion' take to make Severus?" he demanded.

"Three days, My Lord."

"Very well. Return to Hogwarts and begin. At once." There was such a tone of command to the words that Severus immediately banished everything he had used to treat the boy. He bowed low to the Dark Lord and with a "Yes, My Lord." quickly returned through the floo to his dungeon quarters at Hogwarts, without risking so much as a final glance at Potter.

After Severus was gone, Voldemort was able to turn his thoughts and attentions fully to the boy before him. After a few minutes of thinking, he made a decision. If he wanted the boy on his side, some risks would need to be taken. After all, he couldn't very well lock the boy up, or he would lose him.

Harry raised his head and watched Voldemort somewhat apprehensively. It was desperation that brought him here, but now that the pain and injuries were gone, he could admit he was actually somewhat wishing that Snape hadn't left. Sure, so far Voldemort hadn't harmed him, but the man was nothing if not unpredictable. His mood swings were well-known to anyone who had any type of contact with him. But, he had already made a decision, and he'd rather be here than back with the Dursley's.

The Dark Lord was curious. How badly scarred was the boy? He had cursed the boy numerous times in the past, and never before had he refused to meet his eyes. Even now, when Potter was finally looking at him of his own free will, his eyes seemed to be aimed somewhere around his chin. The Dark Lord couldn't help the small smirk; his decision was definitely the correct one.

"Well boy, it seems that at least until Severus completes the potion, you will be my guest." There, did the boy's eyes widen a bit? "After you can speak again, we will talk about your position here. In the mean time, there will be some rules. So long as you do not attempt to leave this place, harm myself or any of my followers, and you obey any instructions I give, you have my word you will not be harmed. If you fail to obey any of these rules- well, your status as a guest can always be changed. Is that understood?"

Harry was in a fair bit of shock by now. He had been expecting to be either killed or locked away in some kind of cell. Now, he was being told he was a **guest**. Granted, a guest that wasn't allowed to leave, but a guest just the same. Plus, while Voldemort wasn't exactly being friendly, he did seem a great deal calmer than earlier. This was actually the most civil the man had ever been towards him. Besides, what did he really have to lose that he hadn't been prepared to lose already? With that thought, he gave a decisive nod of his head to the Dark Lord, who had been waiting for his answer.

While the boy was thinking, the Dark Lord regarded him closely once again. The one thing he noted above all others was exhaustion, it practically oozed off the boy. He didn't know when Potter had last rested, but it was clearly too long ago to be healthy. Seeing the boy's nod, his smirk grew, and he silently summoned a vial of potion from another room. This would be amusing. "Alright then, my first instruction for you, drink this." He handed the vial to the boy.

Harry regarded it doubtfully for a moment, and then shifted his attention to Voldemort, who was watching closely with a smirk that clearly indicated the bastard was enjoying his indecision. Every instinct he had screamed that he couldn't trust anything this man gave him, but his mind reminded him of the deal they had just made, and that refusing could therefore be just as potentially dangerous as doing what he was told. What could he do but hold Voldemort to his word? Decision made, he popped the cork out of the vial and downed it quickly. A moment later, everything went black.


	4. At Hogwarts

Oh my god, has it really been THAT long? I am really, truly, deeply sorry for keeping you all waiting so long. It wasn't intentional. First, just as I thought I was getting better, I got really ill and even completely blacked out one day. I was walking across the dining room, and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the floor. It was kind of scary actually. Then, I got bogged down in schoolwork. Plus, I finally got the Nintendo Wii I've wanted for a year (it's SO awesome). I admit that I got completely distracted from everything else for a few weeks. Add in a bit of writer's block, with a chapter that refused to be written, and I hope you understand the delay. I swear that I'll never disappear for nearly this long ever again. You can expect another chapter in two weeks, and then they should be on a weekly basis after that. I'll be far enough ahead in my writing by then. Sorry this one's so short. It was meant to be over twice this length, but the short version is the only one that was willing to cooperate with me.

If anyone wants to be able to stay up to date on news about my writing, I now have a LiveJournal under the name OlympianLady. You'll have to be on my friends list to read it, but I'll be happy to add anyone that wishes it. Just write me (or simply add me to your friends list) so I know you're interested.

If you haven't voted in the poll yet, this is your LAST CHANCE, so do it now. I'll be closing it before posting the next chapter in two weeks. I can't promise to obey the voting results, but I do want to know everyone's opinions.

Has everyone here pre-ordered _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ yet? If you haven't, get a move on. I'm shelling out 100 dollars for the Exclusive Collector's Edition from Amazon, but you can get the standard version there for under 8 dollars if you prefer.

BTW, 'The Dark Knight' movie rocks, if you haven't seen it. Heath Ledger scared me a bit.

Wow, this is a long A/N. Sorry about that. Given how long I was gone, I had lots of news to share. Now, in honor of Harry's 28th birthday, on to the story:

* * *

Chapter Three:

Severus Snape had never felt so confused in his life. He simply didn't know what to think, or what to do. If there was one thing Severus Snape had always **hated**, Marauders aside, it was not knowing what to do. It simply didn't suit him. And yet, here he stood pacing in front of his fireplace, completely unable to decide what he should do.

Surely he should go to Dumbledore? But if he did that, the old man would only send the blasted boy straight back to those muggles, assuming he could retrieve the boy at all. He couldn't let that happen. Not to Lily's son. Damn that Potter for disrupting his leisure time like this, as if he didn't have enough to do already. But if he left the brat, how safe could he possibly be? He was even now alone and completely at the non-existent mercy of the Dark Lord. Though it was strange that the Dark Lord had decided to heal the boy, rather than kill him.

Damn it all to hell, he couldn't just stand around debating all night. The headmaster would know he had been called, and was no doubt expecting some sort of report. He needed to make a decision what to tell him. Now.

With a decisive nod of the head, Professor Severus Snape turned sharply around and stalked out the door of his chambers, heading to make his report.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore would quite happily say that he had had a rather nice day. Tom was being rather quiet lately, Harry was ensconced safely in the tender care of his loving family, and perhaps the best part was his newly replenished supply of lemon drops. They really were geniuses, those muggles, even without magic.

In fact, the only real thing to go wrong for the esteemed Headmaster of Hogwarts this day came late at night, when the school wards alerted him to floo travel from the Dungeon quarters. That could only really mean one thing. Severus had been called. What could Tom be planning now? It certainly couldn't be Harry, those wards were secure; he had constructed them himself.

Ah, Severus, the poor boy. It really was a relief that he had come to him before he got pulled too far into Tom's influence. Not that he could blame the boy for his initial leanings, no; Tom was far too persuasive for that. Even as a child Tom had a charisma and an allure that was truly frightening to any that could see the darkness in him. Unfortunately, not many could. Then, with that whole mess with the Marauders, it was a wonder that Severus had found his way back.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his musings about the past. He must have really been thinking hard, not to have noticed someone approaching, but it could only really be one person.

"Come in, Severus my boy." He called out rather jovially.

The door opened, "Headmaster, I've just returned from the Dark Lord."

"Ah, yes, of course. Please sit down. Tea? Lemon drop? Wonderful things, aren't they? I just bought them fresh you know. You really should try one." Apparently the man was in an amazingly good mood, or just on a sugar high.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow, sitting down in a chair in front of the desk. "No, thank you Headmaster. I'd rather not."

"Hmm, well, alright my boy. Tell me, what is Voldemort up to now? He's been quiet lately. He must surely be planning something."


	5. Important Note

AH! Okay, I'm going to stop making promises I can't keep. The fact of the matter is that real life is really hectic and unpredictable for me right now, so I can't justify making any promises about exactly when any of my stories will be updated, but can only promise that I will continue working on them and will update whenever possible.

Current readers will notice that the poll on my profile page is now closed, with just the final results displayed, as my decision has been made. I now have THREE stories being written concurrently, each exploring a different relationship between Harry and Voldemort. In order to help you all know which ones you want to read, I am including an easy reference guide, going by title:

**Desperate Measures: **This is the slash version. It's the same basic plot idea as v2, but the difference in relationship has a somewhat large effect on the story and its characters. Description: Giving up hope that Dumbledore will help with the abuse at the Dursley's, a desperate Harry flees to the only person he knows will not send him back, Voldemort.

The relationship included will be LV/HP in a bit of a Dom/Sub type of deal. Voldemort will care about Harry but, in typical Dark Lord fashion, will want to feel he is more powerful. Therefore, he will take charge between them, but at the same time Harry will be able to convince him of pretty much anything, if that makes sense. Chapters and slash scenes will be clearly labeled, so explicit scenes that do anything more than slightly suggest something will be able to be skipped if you wish.

**Desperate Measures v2: **This is the clean version of the above story. Up until this author's note, they are identical, but there will be small differences between the two starting with the next chapter. After a few more chapters, the differences will begin to become much larger.

The relationship between Harry and Voldemort in this one will be more of a mentor-like or paternal role on Voldemort's part. It's a strange sort of friendship, with Voldemort being someone Harry starts to respect and willingly follow and take advice from.

**To Err is Human: **This story will be semi-clean. Description: Abandoned by his friends and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Harry is rescued by an extremely unlikely person. What happens next?

The relationship between them in this one will pretty much be equivalent to that between a master and a high ranking servant. Voldemort IS a Dark Lord, and Harry willingly follows him, with everything that goes with it. But, things are a bit more complicated between them than that, thus earning the semi-clean label. Let's just say it's safe for you to read, no matter your feelings about slash, but I felt safer labeling it semi-clean.

There, now you should have a pretty good idea of which of my current Harry Potter stories would be to your taste. Hopefully this'll cut down on any issues or complaints later. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, and I'll be happy to answer them. I'll update whenever I can, but needless to say with real life being so hectic and three stories to worry about at once, it'll be rather erratic. I'll be in a better position after the New Year, when a lot of my current real life commitments come to an end. So, please just be patient with me until then, and I'll thank you with some sort of actually predictable update schedule. Thank you for the patience. And, as always, you can also find me on my LiveJournal under the name olympianlady. Of course, I haven't even had time to update that lately, but you never know.


End file.
